Mom: Don't Hide Behind the Camera, Get in the Damn Picture! Here's Why!
by Kim Kusiciel

A local photography company, Something Blue Photography, promoted a "mini-shoot" for Mother's Day weekend. It made me stop and think. Oftentimes, I am not in the pictures with my kids. I make sure my husband and other special people are in them, but never me. I really took the thought to heart and started looking through the pictures on my phone. I am not in many of them.

Then I went way back and looked at favorite pictures of myself as a kid. They all included my mom and her beautiful smile. It was in that moment that I decided to get "in" the picture. I scheduled my mini-shoot and made my own plans for Mother's Day. The pictures turned out beautifully and they inspired me to get in the pic. I want my kids to have pictures with me in them! Mom's, get in front of the camera this year!

What a beautiful picture, Kim Kusiciel ! Gorgeous! I could so relate to this tip. I was always hiding from the camera or the one taking all the pictures, so I was never in them. I was also very critical of myself and always over-analyzed if I was in them. Over the past few years I've learned to not take myself so seriously - and get in the damn picture! :-) And welcome, Lindsay Tague Badalamenti to the tribe!

Thank you for all the warm welcomes! There are actual studies showing how being in your photos and having framed in the home build a stronger sense of family. Your kids feel a part of the family and will treasure those images like how Kim mentioned she loves her childhood images with her mom.

One of my best friends lost her husband at age 33. They had three very small children who would only have those photos to go back and look at. This was my "ah ha" moment. It pushes me as a photographer every time I shoot. I want people to always be able to look back and remember those moments. The way their child smirked at a certain age, their dads tossing them in the sky, or their mom's hugging them, I want to capture all the feels.

But trust me I know how hard it is to get IN front of the camera! My tip is to get in the photos, don't delete any, and than look back in a month at them. Most of them time when I do that I realize they are better than I first thought. I see the moment, the laughter and love more than my double chin, tired eyes, or need for a hair cut.